Characteristics of Cancer Flashcards
What is tumourigenesis?
The creation of a tumour through increased cell division and decreased apoptosis
What is a tumour?
An excess of cells in a certain location that creates a mass of unregulated growing tissue
Is every tumour cancerous?
No. Only cancerous when it can undergo metastasis
What is a benign tumour?
A mass of cells growing in a confined area that doesn’t leave
How do the cells in a benign tumour behave?
Relatively normally. There’s just more than usual
What is a malignant tumour?
A mass of cells that breaks out of a confined area and spreads
What marks the transition from a benign tumour to a malignant tumour?
The ability to metastasize
What is metastasis?
A primary tumour gains the ability to migrate to new locations and form new tumours
Is metastasis easy for cancer cells to do?
Not at all
How do tumour cells metastasize?
- Cells lose their adhesive factors
- Cells need to break through the ECM, the epithelium, and the blood vessel
- Travel through the blood to a new location
- Break back out through the blood vessel, then the epithelium, then the ECM
- Survive in the new area and keep dividing
How do cancer cells look different than normal cells through microscopy? (5 ways)
- Stain darker with H and E staining
- Cancer cells are less differentiated and less orderly
- Nuclei are bigger
- Divide more often
- Fewer specialized structures
What is cancer?
Multiple diseases involving unrestrained growth of cells and tissues
Why is cancer so hard to cure?
So many different reasons to cause it
Why does cancer happen?
Regulatory mechanisms that maintain normal cell growth rates malfunction
What are the 4 types of malignant tumours?
Carcinoma, sarcoma, leukemia, lymphoma
